Dining packages

[woodley]

Thinking of booking a dining package but would rather wait till on board.  Is there any difference in price of buying before rather than onboard.  Also with regard to the chefs table, I know there is a french one but what are the others?

[ECCruise]

15 minutes ago, woodley said:

Thinking of booking a dining package but would rather wait till on board.  Is there any difference in price of buying before rather than onboard.  Also with regard to the chefs table, I know there is a french one but what are the others?

Pricing is the same.

 

No way of knowing what Chef's Tables will be on your cruise until you are onboard.

We've had French, Italian, American (California) and Arabic.  But best odds are French and Italian, depending on the length of your sailing.

[Dr H]

While not officially a "Chef's Table", they have been known to offer a Dutch/Indonesian Rijstaffel. We've done it twice, and much as it pains me, it was very poor, bordering on awful both times. Considering the complement of Indonesian nationals in the crew, that was pretty shocking. I would advise against it if offered. To the two of us, getting a poor meal on Azamara, and twice, was pretty shocking. If offered, make up your own mind, but we won't be going, and we love Rijstaffel. RE: French and Italian. We have gone to both, on several occasions. Both are worth every penny of the surcharge. We are prejudiced, and modestly prefered the Italian dinner over the French, very modestly. However IMHO, the Italian wines we have been served at all of the dinners were significantly better than the French choices. Again, our recommendation if you are only going to do one, go Italian. We haven't bothered with California, I suspect you would do those more for the wines than the food. We had a weird "Japanese" dinner once. It looked more California than Japanese, and the wines were California. Otherwise, we are B2B, and I suspect it will be French first leg, and Italian over the Atlantic. May you have sleepless nights trying to decide this very tough decision.

[uktog]

As a counter experience although pardon any ignorance I have on the real deal The Rijstaffel was the high spot of our speciality dining on two cruises . If you are on a ship where Iwan is F and B manager he’s your expert and ensures a great experience 

[excitedofharpenden]

14 minutes ago, uktog said:

As a counter experience although pardon any ignorance I have on the real deal The Rijstaffel was the high spot of our speciality dining on two cruises . If you are on a ship where Iwan is F and B manager he’s your expert and ensures a great experience 

I have to agree and would not follow Dr H's advice to avoid it. I've been to probably half a dozen and really enjoy them to the extent I've sought them out because they aren't always well advertised (nor held on every cruise). Not to be done too often, they are set up in different venues and food is served family style (ie they don't do courses, just bring food to the table). I've always enjoyed them and learned to pace myself because the food just keeps coming!

 

Phil 

[uktog]

Oh yes not a meal you leave wanting to eat again soon 😂

[hamrag]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

As a counter experience although pardon any ignorance I have on the real deal The Rijstaffel was the high spot of our speciality dining on two cruises . If you are on a ship where Iwan is F and B manager he’s your expert and ensures a great experience 

Is this one at chefs' table experience and pricing?

[uktog]

16 minutes ago, hamrag said:

Is this one at chefs' table experience and pricing?

It was not part of the package and was a lower price when we last did it $35 a head when specialities were $30 but times may have changed 

[hamrag]

3 minutes ago, uktog said:

It was not part of the package and was a lower price when we last did it $35 a head when specialities were $30 but times may have changed 

OK, thanks. More specialty restaurant pricing than chefs' table, might try it if available next month on Quest.

[marinaro44]

3 hours ago, uktog said:

As a counter experience although pardon any ignorance I have on the real deal The Rijstaffel was the high spot of our speciality dining on two cruises . If you are on a ship where Iwan is F and B manager he’s your expert and ensures a great experience 

Went to one with someone who grew up with Rijstaffels and thought the one on Azamara was excellent.

[java spot]

I grew up with Rijstaffels as well and have had several good ones on Azamara. Both my parents grew up and lived in Indonesia till immigrating to the US. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

I'll go with the majority and look for one on my next Azamara cruise [never noticed any announcements on the previous ones, and this one is 'France intensive' so maybe not to be expected...]

[uktog]

On 11/1/2023 at 4:54 PM, hamrag said:

OK, thanks. More specialty restaurant pricing than chefs' table, might try it if available next month on Quest.

Elsewhere someone has posted a menu showing the Rijstaffel was held on Quest in October 2023 at a cost of $30 each. They indicated it was outstanding and the highlight of their cruise 

[hamrag]

12 minutes ago, uktog said:

Elsewhere someone has posted a menu showing the Rijstaffel was held on Quest in October 2023 at a cost of $30 each. They indicated it was outstanding and the highlight of their cruise 

Wow, thanks for posting that. All being well, we board in 6 days time.....cannot wait.

[Traveling Fools]

On 11/3/2023 at 5:11 AM, uktog said:

Rijstaffel

 

learned something new!

[SunnyNy]

Can the Chef's Table dinners be purchased alone, or must they be included in one of the packages?

 

[java spot]

They can be purchased alone. 

[Scots Caz]

it is $95 for one Chef's table, no requirement to book as part of a package